Ashgabat is called Aşgabat in Turkmen, Ашхабад (Ashkhabad) in Russian, and Ešq-ābād (عشق‌آباد) in Persian. Before 1991, the city was usually spelled Ashkhabad in English, a transliteration of the Russian form. It has also been variously spelled Ashkhabat and Ashgabad. From 1919 until 1927 the city was renamed Poltoratsk after a local revolutionary.

Ashgabat is a relatively young city, having been founded in 1881 as a fortification and named after the nearby settlement of Askhabad (lit. beloved city in Turkmen).[4] Located not far from the site of Nisa, the ancient capital of the Parthian Empire, it grew on the ruins of the Silk Road city of Konjikala, first mentioned as a wine-producing village in the 2nd century BC and leveled by an earthquake in the 1st century BC (a precursor of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake). Konjikala was rebuilt because of its advantageous location on the Silk Road and it flourished until its destruction by Mongols in the 13th century. After that it survived as a small village until Russians took over in the 19th century.[5][6]

In 1919, the city was renamed Poltoratsk (Полторацк), after Pavel Poltoratsky, the Chairman of the Soviet of National Economy of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.[4][8] When the Turkmen SSR was established in 1924, Poltoratsk became its capital. The original name (in the form of "Ashkhabad") was restored in 1927.[4] From this period onward, the city experienced rapid growth and industrialisation, although severely disrupted by a major earthquake on October 6, 1948. An estimated 7.3 on the Richter scale, the earthquake killed 110-176,000[9][10][11][12] (⅔ of the population of the city), although the official number announced by Soviet news was only 40,000.[13]

In July 2003, all the names of streets in Ashgabat were replaced by serial numbers except nine major highways, some named after Saparmurat Niyazov, his father and mother. The Central Palace area is designated 2000 to symbolize the beginning of the 21st century. The rest of the streets have larger or smaller four-digit numerical names.

When Ashgabat was under Russian rule, the number of Bahá'ís in the city rose to over 1,000, and a Bahá'í community was established, with its own schools, medical facilities, cemetery. The community elected one of the first Bahá'í local administrative institutions. In 1908 the Bahá'í community completed the construction of the first Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of mašriqu-l-'aḏkār (Arabic: مشرق اﻻذكار‎‎),[19] where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions.[20] The building was designed under the guidance of `Abdu'l-Bahá by Ustad' Ali-Akbar Banna Yazdi who also wrote a history of the Baha'is in Ashgabat.[21][22]

The House of Worship itself was surrounded by gardens with four buildings at the four corners of the gardens: a school, a hostel where travelling Bahá'ís were entertained, a small hospital, and a building for groundskeepers.[22]

Under the Soviet policy towards religion, the Bahá'ís, strictly adhering to their principle of obedience to legal government, abandoned these properties in 1928.[23] For the decade between 1938 and 1948, when it was seriously damaged by the earthquake, it was an art gallery. It was demolished in 1963.[20]

After exiting the Soviet Union, the city gained many high-rise residential buildings. Modern construction techniques allows high-rise development (mainly 12-storeys) with relatively good protection against earthquakes. Primarily consisting of residential towers, the first floor is typically given a shopping area and a service department. Many of the buildings are made of white marble. The Arch of Neutrality was dismantled and re-erected in its original form in the south of the capital. Turkmenistan Tower, at a height of 211 meters, is the tallest building in the country.

Ashgabat is primarily a government and administrative centre. The business centre of Ashgabat is on the Archabil highway. Construction of several ministries and departments, teaching and research and cultural centres is complete. Development of office buildings and public spaces along the avenue continues.[24]

The principal industries are cotton textiles and metal working. It is a major stop on the Trans-Caspian railway. A large percentage of the employment in Ashgabat is provided by the state institutions; such as the ministries, undersecretariats, and other administrative bodies of the Turkmenistan government. There are also many foreign citizens working as diplomats or clerks in the embassies of their respective countries. Ashgabat lends its name to the Ashgabat agreement, signed by India, Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, for creating an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.[25]

More than 43 large and 128 medium-sized industrial enterprises along with over 1,700 small industrial facilities are located in Ashgabat and its suburbs.[26] The most important are “Ashneftemash”, “Turkmenkabel”, “Turkmenbashi Textile Complex” etc.[27]

Both locals and visitors go to Altyn Asyr Bazaar in Choganly, where myriads of items, including traditional fabrics and hand-woven carpets, can be bought. Modern shopping areas are mostly found in central streets, including the modern Turkish mall Ýimpaş and shopping centers Paýtagt and Aşgabat.[28] The local residents like traditional bazaars: Russian bazaar, Teke bazaar, Daşoguz bazaar, Mir bazaar, Jennet bazaar, etc.

Public transport in the city consists mainly of buses. More than 60 bus lines cover a total range of more than 2,230 kilometres (1,386 miles) with 700 buses running on urban routes. Currently the city primarily uses Mercedes-Benz and Hyunda buses.[32] Bus timetables and detailed schematic map of the route are at every stop. Distances between stops are about 300–500 meters. From October 19, 1964 to December 31, 2011 the city also had the Ashgabat trolleybus system. At the beginning of the twentieth century narrow-gauge railway operated by steam-power, connecting the city with the suburbs Firyuza.

The Kopet-Dag mountain range is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the south, and Ashgabat's northern boundary touches the Kara-Kum desert. Because of this Ashgabat has an arid climate with hot, dry summers and cool, short winters. The average high temperature in July is 38.3 °C (100.9 °F). Nighttimes in the summer are warm, with an average minimum temperature in July of 23.8 °C (75 °F). The average January high temperature is 8.6 °C (47.5 °F), and the average low temperature is −0.4 °C (31.3 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Ashgabat is 47.2 °C (117 °F), recorded in June 2015.[35] A low temperature of −24.1 °C (−11 °F) was recorded in January 1969.[35] Snow is infrequent in the area. Annual precipitation is only 201 millimetres (7.91 in); March and April are the wettest months.

Ashgabat has many parks and open spaces mainly established in the early years of the Independence and well maintained and expanded thereafter. The most important of these parks are: the Botanical Garden, Güneş, Turkmen-Turkish friendship, Independence. The oldest city park - Ashgabat, was founded in 1887.[45] In the center of Ashgabat is the Inspiration Alley, an art-park complex which is a favorite place for many locals. The amusement park World of Turkmenbashi Tales is a local equivalent to Disneyland. Squares: 10 Years of Turkmenistan Independence, Magtymguly, Eternal Flame, Zelili, Chyrchyk, Garashsyzlyk, March 8, Gerogly, Dolphin, 15 years of Independence, Ruhyýet, 10 ýyl Abadançylyk.[46]